Emmanuel Sanders will be back in the Broncos starting lineup tonight

The amazing recovery of Emmanuel Sanders from a torn Achilles tendon reaches a conclusion tonight. When the Broncos step onto the field to take on the 49ers, the wide receiver will be in Denver’s starting lineup.

Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders will play in a game tonight for the first time since tearing his Achilles at the Dec. 5 practice, and he will start, per source. Sanders will be introduced with Denver’s starters tonight pregame, run out of the tunnel, and be on field for first O snap.

This is an incredibly quick timeline for bouncing back from such a severe injury. It’s especially remarkable considering the fact that Sanders is 32 years old; players that age aren’t supposed to recover from a serious injury in eight months. Throw in that he plays a position that requires a lot of running and cutting, which will put strain on the Achilles, and the wide receiver’s return to the lineup is even more impressive.

That said, none of this should be a surprise. Sanders is a tenacious worker, so he attacked his recovery with the type of motivation that would lead to a fast recovery. He’s also heading into a contract year, so he needs to be on the field, healthy and productive, in order to earn a mega-deal during the offseason.

This is also what Sanders kept hinting at throughout the offseason. His posts on Instagram showed a player ahead of schedule on his recovery, so this is just the latest piece of evidence suggesting the wideout is a quick healer.

And tonight, the road to recovery comes to an end. Whether it’s for one play, one series or more, Emmanuel Sanders playing in a game for the Broncos on Aug. 19 is a remarkable conclusion to the story.